Lever lock



March 1963 LE ROY c. BLOMBERG 3,

LEVER LOCK 3 SheetsSheet 1 Filed April 13, 1959 FIG.

FIG. 2

INVENTOR. Z120), B ain 6;;

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 LE ROY C. BLOMBERG LEVER LOCK March 26, 1963 Filed April 13, 1959 March 26, 1963 LE ROY c. BLOMBERG 3,032,540

LEVER LOCK Filed April 13, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 8 I Z INVENTOR.

1 0, If Bin-1A LeRoy 3,082,640 LEVER LOCK C. Blomberg, 101 Sherman Ave., New York, N.Y.

-'Filed Apr. 13, 1959, Ser. No. 806,138 3 Claims. (Cl. 74-531) The present invention relates to adjustable devices capable of retaining a lever, for example, in a desired, ad-

justed position.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide an adjustable device of the above type which can be very easily operated manually so as to releasably lock a lever in a desired angular position.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a 'device of the above type which is exceedingly simple as well as reliable in operation.

A further object of the present invention is to provide 7 a device of the above type which is capable of providing I an extremely large range of turning for the lever which is retained in an adjusted angular position; It is also an object of the present invention to provide a device of the above type which is capable of being used with furniture such as beds, chairs, or the like for retaining parts thereof in adjusted positions.

With the above objects in view, the present invention includes in an adjusting device of the above type, a pivot means and a lever means turnably supported by the pivot means. In accordance with the present invention a manually compressible friction means cooperates with the lever means to releasably retain the latter in an adjusted angular position. I

The novel features which are considered as character- FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of an embodiment of 1 the device according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the structure of FIG. 1

FIG. 3 is an end view of the structure of FIG. 1 as seen from the right of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 showing the position which the parts take when the lever is released for turning movement;

FIG. 4 shows the structure of FIG. 3 in the position which the parts take when the lever is locked in an adjusted position;

FIG. 5 is an end elevational view of another embodiment of a device according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is an end elevation of a third embodiment of a device according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the structure of FIG. 6; FIG. 8 diagrammatically illustrates the use of the structure of the invention as a device for holding a bed in an adjusted position.

Referring now to FIGS. l-4, it will be seen that the structure of the invention includes a base plate 10 which forms a support means supporting the rest of the structure of the invention.

The base plate 10 can be made of any suitable substantially rigid material such as wood or metal. A pivot means in the form of a pivot pin 11 is fixedly carried by 3,082,640 Patented Mar. 26, 1963 and extends from a base plate 10. This pivot means is in the form of an'elongated stud which has a threaded portion extending into a bore of the base plate 10. The

bore of the base plate 10 is counter sunk at the opposite faces of the base plate 10 to receive the nuts-12 which threadedly engage the pivot pin 11 so as to fixedly hold the latter to the base plate 10 and also preventing turning movement of the pivot pin 11. -This pivot pin 11 is also threaded at its outer free end portion which is distant from the base plate 10, for a purpose described below.

The assembly of the invention also includes a lever .means 13. This lever means includes the lever plate 14 and a pair of sheets of friction material 15 fixed to the opposite faces of the lever 14. The lever- 14 is formed with an opening through which pivot pin 11 freely extends so that the lever 14 is turnable around the axis of the pivot pin as well as movable axially along the pivot pin, and the sheets 15 which are fixed to the lever 14 are also formed with openings aligned with that of the lever 14 and through which the pivot'pinfreely passes.

These sheets 15 may be made of soft rubber, for ex- :ample, and are fixed in any suitable way to the lever 14 as 'by being cemented thereto. Soft rubber is preferred since it is deformable and has a high coefiicient of friction. The pair of friction sheets 15 form part of a manually compressible friction means which is provided for releasably holding the lever 14 in an adjusted angular position.

This friction means includes in addition a second pair of friction sheets 16. The right friction sheet 16 of FIGS.

j surrounding. the pivot pin 11 and may also be cemented 3 and 4 is fixedly carried by the base plate 10 in a position to the left surface of the base plate 10, as viewed in FIGS. 3 and 4. A friction plate 17 of substantially rigid metal, for example, is. formed with an opening through 35.-

- side of the lever 14 opposite from the base plate 10, and the second friction sheet 16 is fixed to the surface of the which the pivot pin 11 freely passes and is located on the plate 17 which is directed toward the lever 14, the sheet 16 which is fixed to the plate 17 also surrounding the pivot pin 11. All the friction sheets 15 and 16 may be made of soft rubber and they may be in form of simple circular sheets which are formed with openings at their center through which the pivot pinll passes.

As is evident from FIG. 1, the plate- 17 is of substantially oval configuration and has a pair of end portions located on opposite sides of the pivot pin 11 beyond the several friction sheets 15 and 16. The opposite free end v portions 18 of the friction plate 17 are formed with openings 19 through which a pair of guide pins 29 freely pass, respectively. These guide pins 20 extend parallel to the pivot pin 11, are located at diametrically opposed sides thereof, and are fixedly carried by the base plate 10 in the same way that the pin 11 is carried by the base plate '10. In other Words each guide pin 20' is provided with a threaded portion extending into a bore of thebase plate '10 which is counter sunkto receive nuts which engage the guide pin to fix the latter to base plate 10. A pair of coil springs 21 are respectively coiled about the guide pins 20 between the base plate 10 and the friction plate 17 to urge the latter away from the base plate 10, these guide pins and the springs 21 which are coiled thereabout being located beyond the friction sheet 16 which is fixed to the plate 17.

It is apparent that with the structure described above,

when the pair of friction sheets 15 are not respectively pressed against the pair of friction sheets 16, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the lever 14 is free to turn and can be placed in any desired angular position about the axis of the pivot pin 11. However, when the friction means 15, 16 is compressed along the axis of the pivot pin 11 so that the sheets 15, on the one hand, and the sheets 16, on the other hand, respectively press against each other, then the lever 14 will be retained in a desired angular position, and this is the position of the parts which is indicated in FIG. 4.

In order to compress the friction means or release the friction means to action of the springs 21'which place the parts in the position shown in FIG. 3, a manually operable means together with a cam means is provided. The manually operable means is in the form of a lever '22 which is freely turnable around the pivot pin 11. This lever 22 fixedly carries one part 23 of a cam means 23, 24 the other part 24 of which is fixedly carried by friction plate 17. The cams 23 and 24 are each axially bored and the pivot pin 11 passes freely through the axial bore of the cams 23 and 24. The cam member 24 has a left end face, as viewed in FIGS. 3 and 4, which is in the configuration of a pair of spiral portions each extending around one-half the circumference of the cam 24, and the cam 23 has a right end face of a mating configuration as in evident from FIGS. 3 and 4. The outer threaded free end of the pivot pin 11 carries a nut 25 and a cross pin 26 extends through the nut 25 and pivot pin 11 so as to fix the nut 25 axially on the pivot pin 11. Any suitable set screw could be used instead of the cross pin 26 and also a pair of lock nuts would serve the same purpose. The element 25 prevents the manually operable lever 22 from moving to the left beyond the position thereof shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, so that the position of the nut 25 controls the distance between the cam 23, which is fixed to the lever 22 for turning movement therewith as by being welded to the lever 22, for example, and the base plate 10. The position of the nut 25 can be adjusted on the pin 11, and the cross pin or a set screw will maintain the nut in its adjusted position. It will be seen, therefore, that when the lever 22 is turned from the position illustrated in FIG. 3 to that of FIG.,4 the cam 23 will act on the cam24 to urge the latter toward the base plate 10, and as a result friction plate 17 will be urged toward the base plate so that the friction sheets and 16 become compressed and engage each other in a manner illustrated in FIG. 4 in order to releasably hold the lever 14 in an adjusted angular position. When the lever 22 is returned to the position indicated in FIG. 3, the springs 21 guarantee that the friction plate 17 will be shifted away from the base plate 10 so as to release the lever 14 for free turning movement. Although the springs 21 are not absolutely essential they are preferred since without them the friction sheets 15 and 16 might rub against each other during turning of the lever 14 to the desired angular position when the manually operable cam means. 22, 23 is in the ope-n position releasing the lever means 14, 15 for free turning movement. The two angular positions of the lever 22 are illustrated in FIG. 1, the left solid line position of FIG. 1 corresponding to the closed position of FIG. 4 while the right dot-dash line position of FIG. 1 corresponds to the open position of FIG. 3.

vAs is evident fronrthe above discussion, when it is desired to change the position of the lever 14, it is only necessary for the operator to turn the lever 22 so as to release the friction lock, and then the lever -14 is easily turned to the desired position and the lever 22 is then manually returned to the friction locking position to retain the lever 14 in the desired position. This construction of the invention has many, many uses such as, for example, in adjustable furniture. As anexample of one of the many uses, there is shown in FIG. 8 a bed 30 having a bed spring assembly 31 which is pivotally supported at 32 by the sides of the bed for turning movement about the axis of pivot 32. The lever 14 of the device of the present invention described above is pivotally connected at its outer free end to a link 15 which is in turn pivotally connected to the spring assembly 31, the device of the invention being mounted at the side of the spring assembly on a stationary part of the bed, as shown in FIG. 8. Thus, with such a bed the operator need only turn the lever 22 so as to release the lever 14 and the bed spring assembly 31 can be turned to any desired inclination, and the link 15 will cooperate with the lever 14 to automatically turn the latter, and when the desired inclination of the bed spring 31 is obtained the lever 22 is actuated to again lock the lever 14 in the desired position. The use of the device of the invention with a bed is only by way of example. It is clear, for example, that the device of the invention can equally well be used with adjustable chairs, adjustable tables, etc.

Of course, it is not essential that there be only one lever assembly in the device of the invention. Any number of individual levers may be located between the base plate 10 and the friction plate 17 on the pivot pin 11 to be turnably supported thereby, and each lever may have a construction identical with lever -14 with each lever having on its opposite faces a pair of friction sheets identical with the sheets 15. For example, referring to FIG. 5 it will be seen that the pivot pin 11a pivotally supports a pair of levers 14a and 14b, the lever 14a having a pair of friction sheets 15:: fixed to its opposite faces and lever 14b having a pair of friction sheets 15b fixed to its opposite faces, all of these friciton sheets surrounding the pivot pin 11a and being identical with friction sheets 15 and 16 described above. With the embodiment of FIG. 5 the pivot pin 11a is not carried by a base plate but is instead fixed to a plate 40 which is engaged by a plate 41 which carries a friction sheet 16a corresponding to the friction sheet 16 described above. A second plate 42 corresponding to the friction plate 17 carries the second friction sheet 16a. The cam means 23, 24 of FIG. 5 is identical with that of FIGS. l-4 and also the lever 22 and nut 25 and cross pin 26 are identical. The plate 40 to which the leftend of the pivot pin 11a of FIG. 5 is fixed is in turn fixed to the plate 41 in any suitable way as by the screw members 43 so that the pin 11a cannot turn around its axis. The plate 42 is provided at its bottom end with an extension 44 fixed by screws 45 to a base plate 46, and the plate 41 is provided at its bottom end, as viewed in FIG. 5, with an extension 47 which makes an angle slightly less than with the plate 41 so that the junction between the plate 41 and its bottom portion 47 rests on the base plate 46, as shown in FIG. 5. A pin 48 is fixed to and extends upwardly from the plate 46 through an opening of the plate portion 47, and a spring 49 engages the head of the pin 48 and presses on the left end of the plate portion 47, as viewed in FIG. 5, to urge the plate 41, 47 in a counter-clockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 5. A stud 50 is fixedly carried by a plate portion 41 and passes freely through an opening of the plate portion 42, and a spring 51 is coiled about the stud 50 to urge the plate portions 41, 42 apart from each other.

Of course, the levers 14a and 14b of FIG. 5 are formed with aligned openings through which the pivot pin 11a freely passes, and all of the friction sheets are in the form of simple circular discs also formed with aligned openings through which the pivot pin passes, and in the same way the plates 41 and 42 are formed with aligned openings through which the pivot pin passes. With this construction when the manually operable lever 22 is turned to a position corresponding to that of FIG. 3 where the several friction sheets are not pressed against each other, the. levers 14a and 14b can be turned independently of each other to any desired angular position. Thereafter, when the desired angular position of the levers 14a and 15b is reached, it is only necessary for the operator to turn the lever22 back to the'friction-locking position so as to compress the friction means formed by the several friction sheets and thus press all of the sheets against each other in the manner shown in FIG. 5 for releasably holding the pair of levers 14a and 14b in the desired,

angular position.

It will be noted that with the embodiment of FIGS. 1-4, the location of the guide pins 20 at diametrically opposed sides of the pivot pin 11 limits the turning of the lever 14 to an angle somewhat less than 180. However, with the embodiment of FIG. 5 it will be seen that the structure does not have anything located on the top side of the pivot pin 11a to limit the turning of the levers 14a and 14b so that these levers are turnable through substantially 360 with the embodiment of FIG. 5. Furthermore, it Will be noted from FIG. 5 that it is not essential that the friction plate which corresponds to the plate 17 of FIGS. 3 and 4 be maintained parallel to the base plate. Thus, when the lever 22 of FIG. 5 is turned to the position which releases the levers 14a and 14b for turning movement, the spring 51 will act on the plate 41, 47, to turn the latter in a counterclockwise direction, and the spring 49 will act in the same way, and this will angularly tilt the plate portion 41 so as to move it away from the plate portion 42. The openings through which the pivot pin 11a passes have suflicient clearance with respect to the pivot pin to allow such free tilting movement of the plate 41 together with the parts carried thereby. Actually with the embodiment of FIG. 5, when the lever 22 is turned to the position releasing the levers 14a and 14b for turning movement, the pivot pin 11a itself together with the plate 41 is tilted by the springs 49 and 51 so as to release the levers 14a and 14b for turning movement, and, as was pointed out above, there is sufficient clearance for the pivot pin 11a to be tilted in this way with respect to the base plate 46.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show an embodiment of the invention which is identical with that of FIGS. 14 except that this embodiment also provides substantially 360 turning of the lever 14. This is brought about by extending the friction plate 17' to only one side of the pivot pin 11, as indicated in FIGS. 6 and 7. Thus, the guide pins 20' are located on the same side of the pivot pin 11 extending freely through openings of the plate 17', and the springs 21 are located at opposite sides of the plate 17 in the manner shown in FIG. 6 so that these springs 21' tend to tilt the plate 17 in a counter-clockwise direction with respect to the base plate 10, as viewed in FIG. 6, in order to place the parts in their released position freeing the lever 14 for turning movement. When the lever 22 is turned to lock the lever 14 in the adjusted angular position through the cam means 23, 24 already described above, the springs 21' are compressed and the plate 17' is returned to its position parallel to plate 10. Of course, here again the bore of the cam 24 together with the openings of the plate 17' and friction sheet 16 fixed thereto through which the pin 11 passes are sufiiciently larger than the pin 11 to provide the clearance necessary for the free tilting movement of the plate 17'. Thus, by locating the guides and springs which cooperate with the friction plate 17 on only one side of the pivot pin 11, as indicated in FIGS. 6 and 7, the range of turning of the lever 14 is practically doubled.

It is apparent from the above description that while the structure of the invention is exceedingly simple it nevertheless reliably holds a lever such as lever 14 referred to above in an adjusted angular position, and moreover the structure can be easily operated since only a relatively short turning of the manually operable lever 22 is required to place the parts in their locking or unlocking position.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of adjustable devices differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in adjustable lever devices, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the sprit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. An adjustable device comprising, in combination, pivot means having a predetermined axis; lever means carried by said pivot means for turning movement around said axis; friction means surrounding said pivot means on both sides of said lever means and having on both sides of said lever means a pair of portions movable toward and away from each other; spring means cooperating with at least one of said portions of said friction means for moving the same away from the other of said portions to release said lever means for turning movement around said pivot means; and a manually operable means cooperating with said friction means for urging at least one of the portions thereof toward the other portion thereof to compress said lever means between said portions of said friction means for retaining said lever means in a desired angular position, said portions of said friction means being urged toward each other exclusively by said manually operable means.

2. An adjustable device comprising, in combination, a base plate; a pivot pin fixed to and extending from said base plate; a first friction sheet carried by said base plate surrounding said pivot pin; a lever turnably carried by said pivot pin and having a surface directed toward said friction sheet; a second friction sheet carried by said surface of said lever surrounding said pivot pin; a .third friction sheet fixed to the opposite face of said lever also surround ing said pivot pin; a plate surrounding said pivot pin on the side of said lever opposite from the base plate and freely movable on said pivot pin toward and away from said base plate, said plate having a surface directed toward said lever; a fourth friction sheet carried by said surface of said plate and also surrounding said pivot pin; spring means acting on said plate to urge the latter away from said base plate; and manually operably means carried by said pivot pin and cooperating with said plate for urging the latter toward said base plate so as to press said first and second friction sheets against each other and said third and fourth friction sheets against each other to retain said lever in an adjusted angular position, said sheets being pressed against each other exclusively by said manually operable means.

3. An adjustable device comprising, in combination, a base plate; a pivot pin fixed to and extending from said base plate; a lever turnably carried by said pivot pin; a friction plate surrounding said pivot pin on the side of said lever opposite from said base plate, said friction plate being freely movable along said pivot pin; a first pair of friction sheets respectively carried by opposed side surfaces of said lever and surrounding said pivot pin; a second pair of friction sheets carried by said base plate and friction plate surrounding said pivot pin and respectively directed toward said first pair of friction sheets; manually operable means carried by said pivot pin on the side of said friction plate opposite from said lever; cam means connected to said manually operable means and to said friction plate for urging the latter toward said base plate upon actuation of said manually operable means for causing said first and second pairs of friction sheetsto bepressed against each other for retaining said lever ina desired angular position, said friction sheets being pressed against each other exclusively by said cam means; andtspring means cooperating with said base plate and friction plate for urging'the latter away from said base plate to a position where said lever together with said first pair of friction sheets are free to turn with respect to said second pair offriction sheets.

References Cited'in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Rowland Mar. 9, 1875 Kingston Mar. 19, 1935 Codlin June 19, 1945 Bartrug Sept. 12, 1950 Moore et a1. Mar. 4, 1952 Kempkes July 6, 1954 Strahota et a1 Feb. 15, 1955 Leigh Aug. 27, 1957 

1. AN ADJUSTABLE DEVICE COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, PIVOT MEANS HAVING A PREDETERMINED AXIS; LEVER MEANS CARRIED BY SAID PIVOT MEANS FOR TURNING MOVEMENT AROUND SAID AXIS; FRICTION MEANS SURROUNDING SAID PIVOT MEANS ON BOTH SIDES OF SAID LEVER MEANS AND HAVING ON BOTH SIDES OF SAID LEVER MEANS A PAIR OF PORTIONS MOVABLE TOWARD AND AWAY FROM EACH OTHER; SPRING MEANS COOPERATING WITH AT LEAST ONE OF SAID PORTIONS OF SAID FRICTION MEANS FOR MOVING THE SAME AWAY FROM THE OTHER OF SAID PORTIONS TO RELEASE SAID LEVER MEANS FOR TURNING MOVEMENT AROUND SAID PIVOT MEANS; AND A MANUALLY OPERABLE MEANS COOPERATING WITH SAID FRICTION MEANS FOR URGING AT LEAST ONE OF THE PORTIONS THEREOF TOWARD THE OTHER PORTION THEREOF TO COMPRESS SAID LEVER MEANS BETWEEN SAID PORTIONS OF SAID FRICTION MEANS FOR RETAINING SAID LEVER MEANS IN A DESIRED ANGULAR POSITION, SAID PORTIONS OF SAID FRICTION MEANS BEING URGED TOWARD EACH OTHER EXCLUSIVELY BY SAID MANUALLY OPERABLE MEANS. 